Bereishit(Genesis 1:1-6:8)

Adam and Eve Eat the Apple

The story of Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit,
a major topic in this week's Torah portion, is perhaps the most famous of
Biblical stories.Warned by God to refrain from eating fruit from the Tree of
Knowledge that is in the midst of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve ignore the
divine command. It is puzzling how they could have acted that way; before they
ate from the tree, evil was not a part of their psychological makeup - they
were pure of sin, having no shame of their own nakedness. (see Genesis 2:25)
While the text makes it clear that the tree was quite attractive, it is still
difficult to believe that such an enticement would lead Adam and Eve to
transgress. What happened that they disobeyed the Almighty?!

While the snake brought the tree to Eve's attention, and
claimed that "on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you
will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5), it is hard to
imagine that this is what drove Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. The
narrative makes clear that to Eve the tree appeared "good to eat,
desirable to look at, and a pleasant means to acquire wisdom" (Genesis
2:6). But there is no mention of the tree as a vehicle to become God's equal.
Rather, it is a higher level of wisdom they ultimately seek.

The Madregat Adam (great 19th century rabbi) offers a
widely accepted interpretation. He says that Adam and Eve never intended to
revolt against God. Quite the contrary, they viewed eating the fruit as a means
to elevate themselves to a higher level of service to God. Realizing that the
"yetzer hara," the evil inclination, was not a part of their psychological
makeup, they felt flawed in their ability to serve God in as lofty a manner as
possible. Service of God is most significantly exemplified when someone faces a
challenge - and acts as the Almighty would want us to act.

For Adam and Eve there were no such challenges, for they
lacked the internal desire to do anything against God's will. They reasoned
that eating the fruit would allow them, for the first time, to feel the
internal tug of war between the "yetzer hara" and the "yetzer
hatov" (the desire to do good). They reasoned that facing and overcoming
such challenges would demonstrate greater loyalty to God.

What the two failed to realize, however, was that they
would be generating conflicts that they may not be able to overcome. Though
intended to better show their loyalty to the Almighty, these tests proved to be
their downfall. According to the Madregat Adam, the sin of Adam and Eve was not
in disobeying God. Rather, it was their failure to appreciate how much God
really understands them.

God has the greatest understanding of human beings - who
they are and what they are (and are not) capable of achieving. If God says you
shouldn't eat from the fruit because it will cause problems, then the right
thing to do is to listen to God! God created us and certainly He knows us best
of all. When we abandon the parameters laid down by our Creator, we are opening
ourselves up to unfortunate circumstances.

For thousands of years, Jews have understood the
importance of hearkening to God's commands - not only because they are
expressions of His will - but also because we know that following them is truly
what's best for us.

Visitor Comments: 10

(8)
Anonymous,
October 15, 2014 1:42 PM

Great!

This is great! Thank you so much for posting it!

(7)
Mark Rosenbaum,
April 11, 2011 4:23 PM

What is the meaning of Genesis 3:22-23

“The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

(6)
Samuel,
October 1, 2010 10:42 PM

Too many second guesses

G-d stated : Do not eat of that tree. That command should have been respected, no excuses, no further explanations are required, for it's all speculation. What we do know is that when Adam and Eve ate from the tree, not only did they break G-d's commandment, they commited theft, for the tree was not theirs to begin with, to do as they did. They also traded the respect for G-d (their Creator) in exchange for what the snake had to offer, "Suffering and death", and everything inbetween, as was explained when the commandment was given. Adam and Eve therefore decided to ingest their own demise. The forbidden tree represents an action, and in this case, the action was of rebellion even before the knowledge of good or evil was known to them.
For every action, there is a reaction.
We are governed by laws, whether mechanical, physical, or spiritual.

(5)
Keith Haynie,
October 14, 2009 3:43 PM

Patience and Obedience is what God wants

If Adam and Eve had been patient, God would have eventually allowed them to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The forbidden fruit prohibition was only a temporary one. (see Lev 19:23-25)
It was forbidden because of their immaturity and this immaturity is made evident by the way they respond when God asks them if they've eaten the fruit. Neither one steps up and says, "I'm guilty and what I did was wrong" instead they each say "it was somebody else's fault."
Adam and Eve were destined to be rulers over all the earth and as such would need to know the difference between right and wrong. God was planning to take rulership away from Satan and give it to Adam and Eve but they had to be tested first to see it they would be obedient to God.
Thank you and I enjoy reading your commentaries.

maria,
September 23, 2013 8:11 AM

teshuva

I agree ehen you say they should havr said I did it wrong I disobeyed yor order instead of saying it was somebody else's fault. And thst is why they have to come back to the answer.

(4)
bernie siegel,
October 13, 2009 12:42 AM

God knew what the result of his command would be

when you leave home and tell your kids not to open the fridge what do they do when you are out the door. God knew that as soon as he said do not eat the fruit that adam and eve would. it was His intention that we realize we are mortal and have a great deal to learn and that a perfect world is not creation.

Scott,
October 22, 2011 4:16 PM

Tend to agree

Over the years I have tended to agree with this take. It is a simple story with so many levels of depthness.

(3)
Scott Granowski,
October 5, 2007 5:24 PM

Rationalizations?

Thank you for your thought-provoking article. Your presentation that Adam and Eve were not in rebellion against God's will, but only doing what they thought might be of greater service does sound amazingly like some of the rationalizations I have used for my errant decisions. The results, like theirs, have never been pretty.

(2)
Catherine Manna,
October 1, 2007 11:32 PM

God knows whats best, all-ways and in allways!

Yes God knows whats best for us, I agree totally! Completely!

(1)
yehudabouganim,
October 19, 2006 12:49 PM

me,myself and i

i think i have an ansrew why eve and then adam ate from the tree of knowledge. g-d gave adam a woman for two reasons one-to be fruitful and multiple two-for it is not good that man is alone. adam thought more of himself and took the second reason more seriosly and that why he called her woman just like it is stated in the pashuk and man said this time it is a bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh this one shall be called ishah [woman]...and because adam thought of himself this influence the world too to think about themself so eve thought herself and so the snake and that why afterwards adam changed his wife's name to chavah because she was the mother of all life now he took the first reason more seriously

About the Author

Born in New York City, Yehuda Appel was director for many years of Aish HaTorah’s Discovery Program in Jerusalem before founding Aish Cleveland in 1990. In addition to his teaching and administrative responsibilities in Cleveland, his recent focus has been establishing Aish programs on college campuses throughout the Midwest. Yehuda is married to noted speaker Hannah Appel and they have eight children.